Murina huttoni (Peters 1872)

Francis, Charles M. & Eger, Judith L., 2012, A review of tube-nosed bats (Murina) from Laos with a description of two new species, Acta Chiropterologica 14 (1), pp. 15-38 : 20-24

Murina huttoni (Peters 1872)

( Figs. 3c , 4c , 5c ; Tables 1 , 2; Map Fig. 1c )

Specimens examined from Laos

ROM: 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀ (see Appendix for details, including information from adjacent countries and the literature).

Description

Externally, especially in fur colour, specimens of this species from Laos appear somewhat similar to M. cyclotis but are considerably larger ( Tables 1 , 2) with relatively longer, narrower ears. The fur of the dorsum is long and fluffy, with slate grey bases for about 20% of the length, then a pale buffy band (≈ 35%) which darkens gradually into a darker orange-brown band (≈ 45%). The ventral fur is similar but somewhat paler. The interfemoral membrane is extensively covered with reddish-brown hairs which are longer near the body and shorter near the edge. At the foot, the membrane inserts on the side of the toe, near the base of the claw.

The species is most readily distinguished by its size and dentition. Like M. cyclotis , the anterior upper premolar is similar in size to the posterior premolar; however, the mesostyles of the first and second upper molars (M 1 and M 2) are well developed, similar in height to the other cusps such that the cusps form a relatively well developed W-pattern, and there is no strong indentation on the labial side of the molars ( Fig. 4c ). In the lower toothrow, the talonids of the lower molars, M 1 and M 2 are well developed; viewed from above, the length of the talonid on the lingual side is only slightly less than that of the trigonid; in lateral view, the posterior cusps are about 2/3 the height of the anterior cusps ( Fig. 5c ).

Discussion

In dental and cranial characters these match the holotype of M. huttoni (Peters 1872) from India (BMNH 1879.11.21.685) as well as that of M. huttoni rubella Thomas 1914 (BMNH 1908.8.11.6) from Fokien, China. The latter was described as differing mainly in fur colour, being more reddish orange, while M. h. huttoni is apparently more greyish brown (although the holotype is in alcohol and the colour is now hard to discern). If this character is reliable, the Lao specimens would appear to match more closely with M. h. rubella as was also suggest- ed by Hendrichsen et al. (2001) for Vietnamese specimens. Further specimens, preferably with genetic data, will be required from various locations throughout the range, including the type localities of huttoni and rubella to determine whether this variation is appropriately recognized at a subspecies level.

Distribution and ecology

All three of the Lao specimens were caught at the same location on April 10 and 11, 1996 at Pha Deng, ≈ 8 km E of Ban Navang, Khammouan Province, Laos (17°57’N, 105°23’E); altitude 1140 m, in the understorey of hill rainforest ( Fig. 1c ). An additional specimen from Quang Nam province in Vietnam (ROM 111359) was also caught in premontane evergreen forest. Hendrichsen et al. (2001) reported two specimens from Kon Ka Kinh, from montane rainforest at 1550–1600 m a.s.l., although their third specimen was subsequently identified as M. tiensa ( Csorba et al., 2007) , which we here consider a synonym of M. harrisoni (see below). Lekagul and McNeely (1977) reported a specimen from Chieng Mai, Thailand, but no details are available on its habitat. Csorba et al. (2007) examined one specimen from Thailand (79.1418) in the BM(NH), but provided no details on it, and it is unclear whether it was the same specimen referenced by Lekagul and McNeely (1977). Yenbutra and Felten (1986) listed another specimen from Chieng Mai (SMF 53218), but we have re-identified that as M. harrisoni (see below).

This is the only species of Murina still considered to occur both in the Malay Peninsula and in Indochina, based on a single record of the species from hill rainforest at an altitude of 1450 m on Gunong Benom in Pahang, Malaysia ( Hill, 1972), after the recognition that M. peninsularis is a distinct species from M. cyclotis (as noted above). However, it would be premature to speculate on biogeographic explanations until additional specimens have been obtained and genetic sequences analysed to confirm that Malaysian M. huttoni is, in fact, the same species as the form in Indochina.

Figures

FIG. 3. Skull profiles of specimens of eight species of Murina from Laos: (a) M. harrisoni, EBD 24974; (b) M. fionae sp. nov. ROM 106383; (c) M. huttoni ROM 106419; (d) M. cyclotis, ROM 106431; (e) M. annamitica sp. nov. ROM 106467; (f) M. eleryi, ROM 106411; (g) M. walstoni ROM 110450; (h) M. feae, ROM 106477. Scale bar = 5 mm

FIG. 4. Upper left toothrows of specimens of eight species of Murina from Laos: (a) M. harrisoni, EBD 24974; (b) M. fionae sp. nov. ROM 106383; (c) M. huttoni ROM 106419; (d) M. cyclotis, ROM 106431; (e) M. annamitica sp. nov., ROM 106467; (f) M. eleryi, ROM 106411; (g) M. walstoni ROM 110450; (h) M. feae, ROM 106477. Scale bar = 5 mm

FIG. 5. Lower left toothrows of specimens of eight species of Murina from Laos: (a) M. harrisoni, EBD 24974; (b) M. fionae sp. nov. ROM 106383; (c) M. huttoni ROM 106419; (d) M. cyclotis, ROM 106431; (e) M. annamitica sp. nov., ROM 106467; (f) M. eleryi, ROM 106411; (g) M. walstoni ROM 110450; (h) M. feae, ROM 106477. Scale bar = 5 mm

FIG. 1. Distribution of known specimen records of Murina from Laos and surrounding countries for (a) M. cyclotis, (b) M. feae, (c) M. huttoni, and (d) M. eleryi. Solid circles (●) mark locations for specimens examined by the authors from Laos, Vietnam or southern China or extracted from Genbank or the Barcodes of Life databases, while open circles (○) mark locations extracted from the published literature (see Appendix for specimen details). On map (b), the solid star represents the type locality of M. feae, while the open star represents the type locality for M. cineracea. On map (d), the open star represents the type locality for M. eleryi